Every part in the Pods category: where your crew rides, or the machine that flies the ship in their place, and its figures from the info card.
A pod is the ship's command part: it steers on its own reaction wheels the instant it is aboard, and it carries the ship's name. See Building a rocket for how it joins the rest of the stack, and Flying for how its steering fits with fins, gimbal and thrusters.
Command Pod
Part · Pods · sold by Rocketry
The pod a Meek flies from. It flies only with an astronaut aboard: seat one on its properties sheet before you fly, or the launch is refused.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
800 kg
FULL MASS
820 kg
COST
400 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
10 u
STORES FOOD
20 u · 20 kg
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.86 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
1 u/day
TORQUE
20 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.6×
BODY LIFT CL
0.4
MAX TEMP
2400 K
MAX G
25 g
IMPACT
20 m/s
BLAST
60 kN
ASTRONAUTS
1
NODES
4
WHEEL POWER
0.02 u/s
It stacks a tank or engine above and below, and offers a rail along each shoulder for a pair of fins.
It has no actions to tap. Its properties sheet carries a Ship name field, usable in flight, and a Crew row with its one seat, hangar only.
Pairs with a Fuel Tank and an Engine for a first flight. Instead of it, fly a Sat Controller when nobody needs to be aboard, or a Crew Capsule when you want two seats.
Sat Controller
Part · Pods · sold by Probe Control
A remote command core: it flies the ship with nobody aboard, steering on its own reaction wheel, so long as it keeps a working link home.
Figure
Value
MASS
150 kg
COST
200 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
5 u
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.43 u/day
TORQUE
8 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.8×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.8×
MAX TEMP
1600 K
MAX G
15 g
IMPACT
10 m/s
BLAST
6 kN
COMM RANGE
3000000 m
COMM TRANSMIT
YES
COMM RELAY
NO
COMM DATA RATE BPS
100
NODES
2
WHEEL POWER
0.05 u/s
It stacks between a tank and whatever sits above it; it has no rails for fins.
Note
Its own radio is rated at 3,000 km, but reach is a pairing: against a level 1 Comm Station on the ground that rating carries about 12,000 km, which covers Earth orbit and no further. See Communications.
It has no actions to tap. Its only property is a Ship name field, usable in flight.
Pairs with an antenna for the reach a probe needs out of sight of the pad. Instead of it, fly a Command Pod or Crew Capsule once a Meek is coming along.
Crew Capsule
Part · Pods · sold by Crew Capsules
A bigger pod: two seats, more life support, and the structure for a heavier mission. Like any pod, it flies only with an astronaut aboard.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
1400 kg
FULL MASS
1440 kg
COST
700 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
15 u
STORES FOOD
40 u · 40 kg
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
1.3 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
2 u/day
TORQUE
25 kN·m
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
0.6×
BODY LIFT CL
0.4
MAX TEMP
2400 K
MAX G
25 g
IMPACT
20 m/s
BLAST
90 kN
ASTRONAUTS
2
NODES
4
WHEEL POWER
0.03 u/s
It stacks a tank or engine above and below, and offers a rail along each shoulder, the same mounting an Escape Motor bolts to for an abort.
It has no actions to tap. Its properties sheet carries a Ship name field, usable in flight, and a Crew row with its two seats, hangar only.
Pairs with an Escape Motor on a shoulder rail for a launch abort, and a Passenger Cabin behind it for more seats than its own two. Instead of it, the Command Pod is lighter and cheaper for a one-seat flight.
Passenger Cabin
Part · Pods · sold by Passenger Cabins
A cabin with two seats and no controls: it carries passengers, but the ship still needs a pod with an astronaut of its own flying it.
Figure
Value
DRY MASS
900 kg
FULL MASS
940 kg
COST
500 cr
STORES ELECTRICITY
10 u
STORES FOOD
40 u · 40 kg
CONSUMES ELECTRICITY
0.86 u/day
CONSUMES FOOD
1 u/day
DRAG NOSE-ON
0.6×
HEAT EXPOSURE
1.45×
BODY LIFT CL
0.25
MAX TEMP
1600 K
MAX G
20 g
IMPACT
14 m/s
BLAST
90 kN
ASTRONAUTS
2
NODES
4
SEAT POWER
1.73 u/day each
It stacks a tank or another part above and below, and offers a rail along each flank.
It has no actions to tap. Its only property is a Crew row with its two seats, hangar only: you cannot reseat it mid-flight.
Pairs with any pod carrying an astronaut. Instead of it, seat a passenger directly in a Crew Capsule's spare seat when you need only one more.
